In this interview, Justin Eastzer, a talented journalist, producer, director, and videographer, opens up about his type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis and journey with cancer. He also shares the story behind the launch of Diabetech, highlighting the power of positivity, advocacy, and community in facing life’s challenges.  

 

I don’t think my diabetes diagnosis and current journey would be the way it is if it weren’t for having people to talk to on social media. We’re crowdsourcing information, and that’s been the biggest thing I’ve been able to hack into.

— Justin Eastzer

 

After being diagnosed with diabetes and prescribed metformin at age 30, Justin Eastzer, who lives in Los Angeles, California, continued to feel unwell. So, he turned to social media for conversation, which came naturally as a YouTube content creator. 

“I posted some videos on TikTok, and I got all of these comments suggesting I was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and actually have type 1,” he said. 

This led Justin to seek a second opinion from an endocrinologist, who did further testing and provided a new diagnosis: type 1.5 diabetes, a variant of type 1 diabetes.  

“I was diagnosed thanks to TikTok,” said Justin, whose story was only beginning to unfold with the realization of how impactful social media could be for this audience.  

Justin, with his contagious, uplifting persona, began regularly sharing diabetes-related content on TikTok, which expanded into other social media platforms. He now has a large social following on his Diabetech podcast, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok channels.  

What’s his endgame? “To become the ‘go-to news source’ for diabetes tech, research, and management tips with correspondents who focus on those areas.” 

 

Take me back to the beginning. How did you get here? 

Justin: So my background is in Hollywood. I’ve lived in LA for a decade, working in TV development, sizzle reels, trailers, and TV spots. That’s where I learned the craft of editing, producing, and interviewing.  

I’ve worked with all of the judges at America’s Got Talent and have a lot of production experience. I ended up leaving my job at America’s Got Talent to start a tech-focused channel called Justin Tech.  

I’ve always loved technology. I put up some videos on YouTube, and they did really well. And I was like, “Wow, okay, I can have a YouTube channel and make videos on it.” So I did that for a few years, and it was during that time that I was diagnosed with diabetes. 

I was diagnosed thanks to TikTok. At that moment, I realized the potential to use social media and produce content about a topic that was new to me — so I could take everything I was learning and share it with others. 

All the skills I strengthened during my career allowed me to be a good storyteller, educator, and tinkerer — and to very easily know a good story, interesting piece of tech, or angle to take on something and make a video about it.  

While it started as a TikTok channel, it grew to other social media channels and a podcast.   

 

What do you love most about what you do? 

My whole life, I’ve loved making people smile and laugh. So, if I can do that through my content, that makes me really happy. I like to create, educate, and excite people about things I’m excited about. 

I went to school for broadcast journalism, so I’m a journalist, producer, director, and video editor. So I don’t look at myself as an influencer, but I realize I have a lot of influence. There’s a lot of production and storytelling experience that goes into it. 

What I love about my podcast is that it’s the biggest investment in my brain. If there’s anything I want to learn about or understand better, I have someone on the show to tell me everything.  

I ask a lot of “layman” questions, because I’m a layman in many ways — until that interview ends, and I’m like, “Wow, I actually feel like I understand this better.” The podcast is my favorite part of learning.   

 

What is something that most people don’t know about you? 

I think a lot of people don’t know that I had cancer when I was 21, and that had a huge impact on my sense of taking care of myself and just living life to the fullest.  

That experience showed me I should take every day and spend it like it’s my last. I mean, even if it’s just me hanging out on the couch — I don’t take any day for granted.

I guess I had a different outlook on diabetes at my diagnosis, where I was like it could be worse — and I’ve gotten through something like this before — so I could do it again.  

So, diabetes never looked like a life sentence or an extremely negative thing to me. While it was really sucky, I felt like I had already gone through something that was suckier.  

And ever since my cancer, I’ve always looked at things head-on, and I’m like, “How do I solve this — how do I fix this?” 

While it was destabilizing at first, I got the help I needed by searching and asking everyone questions, so it didn’t become a bad moment in my life. 

I don’t look at my diagnosis as a terrible moment in my life. It’s just another moment.  

 

Are you open to sharing what kind of cancer you had? 

Yeah, it was neuroblastoma — a tumor on my spine. It’s a very rare cancer to have when you’re over the age of two.  

So when I was diagnosed and going through testing, I was on the pediatric floor. It was a grounding experience in the sense that I felt like I couldn’t be visually upset. I had to hold it together because I was surrounded by children. I felt a sense of duty to be strong around everyone on my floor, which was pretty special. 

I’m fortunate, it was a month-long experience of testing, surgery, and then recovery — which lasted longer than that, but I didn’t need to get chemo or radiation. I had to get scans for about seven more years. 

It was a crazy experience.  

 

You have such a positive persona. How do you deal with frustrating moments so well?  

I’ve never really thought about being positive or my content being positive. But I have gotten a lot of comments and feedback saying that people love my positivity and enthusiasm. It’s become more obvious to me how positive my content is because of those comments, but you know, it’s just kind of who I am.  

I’ve always been optimistic, and I guess I just feel like there’s no time to be negative. It’s not going to help anything. 

Life’s hard, and you have to roll with the punches. Just yesterday, my Omnipod was full of liquid. This has never happened in my four years of using it. When I looked closer, there was a crack, and it was leaking. 

It was 104 degrees outside, and I was swimming. My hypothesis is that the batteries expanded and the Omnipod cracked open, because it was full of dark liquid — which I assume was battery liquid. So that was scary, but I just kind of made a fun video about it, took it off, and put on a new pump.  

 

For those who aren’t already involved, how can community impact someone’s experience with diabetes? 

Diabetes can be really isolating and lonely, especially when you don’t have anyone around you who understands that it’s hard. 

It’s being able to message someone, “The craziest thing happened,” or you know, “Has this ever happened to you?” or “What would you do in this situation?” 

Or, “Can I just vent to you for a second?” Community really helps in that way because people have a shared experience. There are so many different communities for this reason. They allow us to live better. 

I don’t think my diabetes diagnosis and current journey would be the way it is if it weren’t for having people to talk to on social media. We’re crowdsourcing information, and that’s been the biggest thing I’ve been able to hack into. 

Whether it’s me providing information or asking questions like, “Has this happened to you?” And having thousands of comments come in saying, “Yes, it has.” “OK, I’m not crazy then, and neither are you!” 

 

Do you always trial new technology when it becomes available, even temporarily?  

It’s a hard industry to do that in. There’s a lot of red tape, from insurance companies to co-pays.  

Plus, to try any new pump, I have to completely uproot my current treatment. Anyone reading or listening would understand that’s not easy; it’s actually destabilizing. 

Luckily, it’s exciting for me to learn new systems. So, if I’m going to start on a new pump, I plan for two very boring weeks, lifewise. I’m not going on a three-day hike, I’m going to make sure that I’m always around a lot of low snacks, have glucagon with me, and I’m in safe places.  

A CGM is easier because you could just put it on — unless you need to get it implanted in your arm, like Eversense, right?  

 

Let’s talk about stories from your community or messages you receive from your community. What’s impacted you the most?  

I get incredible messages from parents who say things like, “You give me hope for my child to live a normal life.” Those are always the most moving messages to receive. 

On the flip side, the most difficult messages to receive are the ones like,” I live in Iran and we have no access to glucose strips. Can you help me? Can you send me some?” 

I get these fairly often, and it makes me want to get involved in creating access for people worldwide. It pains me to hear that people in certain countries don’t have access to some of the most basic things.  

 

What’s a surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself along the way? 

Going into this, I had the mindset of making some fun TikToks, and now what surprises me is that I really have built this news source for people that I want to make even bigger.  

I’ve realized that some news sources I’ve read or watched for so long, like CNET or IGN, which are technology and video game publications, is that I could be that publication.  

I didn’t realize that things I was reading or watching were doing what I could do. And there was a day when that clicked, and I was like, ”Oh wow, I can do that, but for diabetes.” 

So that’s become my goal — to become the “go-to news source” for diabetes tech, research, and management tips with correspondents who focus on those areas.  

 

 

Want to participate in research? Your experience can drive research that matters. The T1D Exchange Registry is a research study, designed to harness the power of individuals with type 1 diabetes.  Join today!